Peter Gutwein,Premier
For the eighth quarter in a row, Tasmania’s economy continues to lead the nation in the latest CommSec’s State of the States Report for January 2022.
That’s two years straight with Tasmania on top as the best performing economy in the country, with the Report noting “Tasmania continues to dominate, maintaining its top position well ahead of other economies”.
This is fantastic news and once again confirms our plan to secure Tasmania’s future is working as we transition through to living with Covid just as we do with other respiratory diseases like the flu.
Tasmania is ranked first in four of the State of the State’s economic indicators, including relative unemployment, retail spending, dwelling starts and equipment investment. Further, Tasmania was ranked a close-second on relative economic growth and construction work done.
Pleasingly, the Report found that Tasmania has the “strongest jobs market” and that “Unemployment in Tasmania stands at a record low of 3.9 per cent…”
Retail spending is also 19.1 per cent higher, and equipment investment is a massive 94.6 per cent higher, than the decade average – clearly demonstrating the confidence Tasmanians and our businesses have to spend and invest.
The Report also found that Tasmania leads the way on dwelling starts, which is 61.3 per cent above the decade average – once again confirming our ongoing commitment to build more housing for Tasmanians.
And in good news for workers, the Report confirms that Tasmania had the fastest wage growth in the country at 2.7 per cent over the year.
There is no doubt our economy entered the pandemic in a position of strength, and we worked hard to maintain this throughout the pandemic. Tasmanians have responded by doing the right thing, getting vaccinated and supporting local businesses, allowing us to reopen as one of the safest places in the world.
We will continue to support Tasmanians, our businesses and our community to maintain this momentum as we continue through this transition phase and learn to live with COVID.
